Most Common Reasons Why Dental Implants Fail in the First Year

Dental implants are an effective way to replace one or more teeth that have been lost due to decay or injury. While implants offer reliable results, there are several reasons they might fail. In many cases, failure occurs within the first year of implant surgery.

Park Dental NYC offers custom dental implants for individuals seeking a permanent tooth replacement solution to restore their bite and enhance the appearance of their smile.

YooKyung Park, DDS, Pat Ng-A-Fook, DDS, and our skilled dental team complete an oral health evaluation before recommending dental implants. They also use the latest techniques to anchor the prosthetic teeth into your jawbone, so they feel good and look natural.

If you break an implant or experience other problems with your prosthetics, we offer flexible appointments to make necessary repairs.

How dental implants replace missing teeth

Dental implants involve a surgical procedure to implant titanium rods into your jawbone. The rods naturally fuse to your jawbone within a few months of surgery. They serve as a stable anchor for one or more individual artificial teeth or a full set of upper or lower teeth.

We use iTero® intraoral scanning technology to design custom dental implants that fit comfortably and resemble your natural teeth. The implants also restore your ability to chew food properly and can correct speech problems caused by missing teeth.

Unlike dentures, the implants are secured and anchored into your jawbone so that they won’t shift in your mouth. Typically, dental implants are the most reliable type of tooth restoration, with results that can last for 25 years or longer, provided good oral hygiene is maintained.

Without proper care, your risk of implant failure increases. Our Park Dental NYC team provides guidance you can follow to properly care for your dental implants to ensure long-lasting results.

Reasons dental implants might fail

One reason that dental implants fail, especially in the first year, is infection. Oral infections are most common during the healing period after post-implantation surgery and can result from not brushing your teeth, missing doses of antibiotics, and ignoring other after-care instructions.

Infections compromise the healing of your jawbone and the surrounding soft tissues that stabilize the implant posts, leading to dental implant failure.

Other reasons dental implants can fail include:

Teeth grinding (bruxism)

Grinding or clenching your teeth puts extra pressure on implants, which can lead to instability and early implant failure.

Tobacco use

Smoking and tobacco use can increase risk factors for implant failure because of nicotine’s effect on your gums. Nicotine reduces blood flow to the tissues, so its use can interfere with healing after implant surgery.

Underlying medical conditions

If you have uncontrolled diabetes, high blood pressure (hypertension), or another condition that disrupts your body’s healing processes, your jawbone may be slow to heal after implant surgery. When posts don’t fuse to the jaw properly, implants can be unstable and prone to failure.

Our skilled dental team evaluates these and other risk factors before moving forward with implant surgery. They also provide comprehensive after-care services to ensure you heal fully and are completely satisfied with the results of your dental implants.

Call Park Dental NYC in Midtown East, Manhattan, New York, today to schedule a dental implant consultation or book an appointment online.